The sponsor of the event, the Consumer Electronics Association, picked up Crenshaw's travel expenses of $546.80, lodging worth $593.60, and meals costing $200, according to his post-travel disclosure form, filed January 27 and posted online by LegiStorm.com.

Crenshaw "attended Congressional panels on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and other official CES events that also included a tour of the show floor and the Leaders in Technology dinner," the filing says.

The aide added, "I did not participate in each of the activities in the sponsor's agenda because they were too numerous in number, occurred over multiple days, and multiple events occurred at the same time."

The Issa aide was only one of many congressional staffers invited to the event.

When it comes to influence-seeking, the Consumer Electronics Association is one of Capitol Hill's heavy hitters, with a long and varied agenda and plenty of money.

According to its most recent lobbying report, covering the final quarter of 2011, and dated January 20 of this year, the electronics association spent $840,000 lobbying the House, Senate, Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House on topics including "Mexican Energy Efficiency Issues Impacting Trade," and "Intellectual Property/Trade Agreements."

After Crenshaw got back from Las Vegas, it was the turn of Lawrence J. Brady, staff director of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which Issa chairs.

According to ABC's account of the getaway, "Republicans packed their bags, boarded buses and followed a police escort 40 miles to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, where a slate of private events is planned for lawmakers over the next three days at the Marriot Waterfront hotel.

"The lobbyists’ donations do not go directly to the Republican Party but instead are paid to the retreat’s sponsors, the Congressional Institute — a non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation that has planned the event for 24 years.

"Although attendance to most of the activities is restricted to members of Congress and their staff, lobbyists for corporations and associations that financially support the Congressional Institute are invited to join legislators at a reception and dinner Thursday night.

"Some Republicans contend that the presence of lobbyists does not necessarily sway lawmakers into any explicit course of action, but rather their input could be useful to help educate members on various issues."

Speakers included former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs, former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and a keynote address by New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, the story added.

GOP political consultant Ed Gillespie also addressed the group, according to an agenda accompanying Brady's disclosure.

The event was closed to the media, ABC said.

A similar retreat was hosted by the institute for House Democrats the following week in Cambridge, Maryland, the network added.